I knew of this book through a tweet by Harper Collins that this book has been selected for 2012 Common Wealth Book Prize. I googled a bit about the author C Y Gopinath and found out that he was a journalist and this was his first book. I got interested and ordered it on to my Kindle.

Towards the end of “The Book of Answers” the author proclaims through one of his characters that “…you just need to keep your eyes open. Watch out for people, do no harm, try to do some good, get angry now and then. Mainly keep your eyes open. The answers are all there, clear as day.” Not much of an answer or a solution is it? In fact it was quite simple and can even be called simplistic. What more and this does not even come from the Book itself, on which the whole story is centered around.

But, this book is not about answers that The Book might provide, heck no one knows what’s in it, but everyone knows that it is supposed to have the answers to all the problems that plague our country. It is left to a rather reluctant Half Bengali- Half Keralite protagonist Patros Patrobobis, who comes across as a typical Indian Middle Class Underdog, who does not mind being a passive observer to everything that goes along and At best, can only offer a satirical self-effacing remark. The story takes place in 2015, future Mumbai as The Book of Answers is left to him as part of a legacy by his ancestors and they instruct him to open it to find the solutions for all the problems in the country, which they found out after careful research. The usual suspects like politicians and media chase him for it and soon his world becomes frenzied and chaotic. Guiding, supporting, prodding and probing him through the situations, were his live-in partner, a rather furiously idealistic Rose Jangry and his college friend Arindam Roy who is into all this for his own reasons. 

The first half of this book was a delightful satire and almost reads like a screenplay. The wit on display was subdued as befits the protagonist and the pace with which the events unfold makes it a breezy read. It does not take itself too seriously as palpable towards the end of the book, where everything falls in place easily. Also, the way Patros rescues Rose from Kerala is too swift and belies the anxiety generated by the incidents that took the story there. There were some interesting notions like the Trivial Court where anyone who has the time and inclination can become judge for the victims of the accused, Happiness tax which will be collected for husbands and wives indulging in Koochooing (Read: Oh you guys know what to read), India 50-50 which attempts to bifurcate India into India Rich and India Poor, and the Ministry of Regrets. Though they were written in an interesting and entertaining manner, they seem to be written around the story rather than into it.  

If not for the relatively low key last act where the plot meanders and comes to an abrupt halt, this book is a good read. It can certainly kill you a lot of time between stations or Airports.